Angela Merkel was among a series of global leaders and government ministers to take a veiled swipe at the Trump administration for undermining the global economy, telling her audience in Davos on Wednesday that the world can only resolve disputes and promote prosperity through cooperation and shared institutions.

The German chancellor took advantage of the US administration’s absence from the World Economic Forum to set out the view that bodies such as the IMF, World Bank and WTO should be strengthened if the world wanted a less “gloomy” economic outlook.

Shared solutions to global problems required shared institutions, she said, and these “will only work if we are able to compromise”. Ms Merkel added: “I believe that it is worth bringing together like-minded people around the world, because anything else will lead us into despair.”